IGFA Plans Junior World Championship

Trustees of the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) announced at their June 1, 2001 meeting the creation of the IGFA Junior Angler World Championship. Junior tournaments or junior divisions of adult tournaments will be selected by IGFA as qualifying events for the championship. A series of qualifying junior events in 2002 will lead up to the first IGFA Junior World Championship Tournament in 2003. It will be an annual event with the junior winners of each of the qualifying events receiving an invitation to represent their tournament at the IGFA World Championship.

It is anticipated that the first junior championship will be held in the Florida Keys at the beginning of summer vacation in 2003. There will be a small fry division for anglers through age 10, and a junior division for ages 11 through 16. Target species for the championship will include many light tackle game fish for which the Florida Keys are famous.

Mike Leech, President of IGFA, said the reason IGFA created the junior world championship was to encourage young anglers to stay involved in fishing and receive recognition for their outstanding accomplishments. Leech said that by giving juniors this kind of recognition, it builds up their self esteem, promotes a family oriented activity and may encourage other youngsters to take up the sport. Today’s junior anglers will be tomorrow’s conservationists, he said.

The Junior World Championship Tournament expands IGFA’s popular ongoing junior angler program which maintains junior world records for boys and girls, publishes the colorful International Junior Angler Newsletter, and maintains an interesting website for junior anglers, www.IGFA.ORG. Juniors who submit their catches are also eligible for 8 monthly heaviest fish awards. Junior catches may be weighed in the boat and released alive.

The Junior World Championship will tie in nicely with the Rolex/IGFA Offshore and Inshore Championships. Currently the Rolex series of inshore and offshore tournaments includes 115 qualifying tournaments representing 25 countries, 12 states and about 20,000 anglers.

Tournament directors interested in becoming a qualifying event for the IGFA Junior World Championship should contact IGFA for details. Parents who fish in tournaments with junior divisions should notify tournament officials of this exciting new opportunity.

IGFA is a non-profit membership supported, conservation and record keeping association with representatives and members in over 120 countries and territories. IGFA was founded in 1939. They also maintain a 60,000 square foot IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum in Dania Beach, Florida.